THE SENATE CAVES IN - WHY?

I'd love to know what the political calculation behind this move was. Did the 16 Dems get scared because Fredo said "terror threat"?

Senate Votes To Expand Warrantless Surveillance
White House Applauds; Changes Are Temporary
By Joby Warrick and Ellen Nakashima
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 4, 2007; Page A01

The legislation, which is expected to go before the House today, would expand the government's authority to intercept without a court order the phone calls and e-mails of people in the United States who are communicating with people overseas.

Democratic leaders expressed disappointment about the result, but they pointed to language that would require lawmakers to reconsider the key provisions in six months.

"My Republican colleagues chose to rubber-stamp a flawed administration proposal that fails to provide the accountability needed in the light of the administration's past mismanagement of key tools in the war on terror," said Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).


I think this gets to the real issue:

Democrats "have a Pavlovian reaction: Whenever the president says the word 'terrorism,' they roll over and play dead," said Caroline Fredrickson, Washington legislative director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The New York Times has a little more on the political angle:

Broader Spying Authority Advances in Congress
By ERIC LICHTBLAU and MARK MAZZETTI
Published: August 4, 2007

The measure approved by the Senate expires in six months and would have to be re-authorized. The White House’s grudging agreement to make it temporary helped to attract the votes of some moderate Democrats who said they thought it was important for Congress to approve some version of the wiretapping bill before its recess.